APNewsBreak: Author John Irving wins literary peace award

CINCINNATI (AP)  The author of novels such as "The World According to Garp" and "The Cider House Rules" that examine the complexities of sexual differences and other social issues is this year's winner of a lifetime achievement award celebrating literature's power to foster peace.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize officials have chosen John Irving, whose first novel was published 50 years ago when he was 26, for the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. It's named for the late U.S. diplomat who brokered the 1995 Bosnia peace accords reached in Ohio.

Sharon Rab, founder and chairwoman of the peace prize foundation, says Irving's books help readers learn to understand and identify with people different from themselves.